Hitting the Books and the Barbell

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerful Women
1

So, I’ve lurked for quite sometime, but now I’ve decided to break my silence by signing up and making a log.

I guess I should give some background information–just so everyone knows where I’m coming from. I’m an 18 year old freshman student from Canada and I’ve been lifting for the better part of 3 years. I’m attending a small American university to get an education while still playing the sport I love–ice hockey. I love lifting–cleans, snatches, front squats, and deadlifts being my favorites.

I have never really set myself to a program and have made decent progress, but have decided that in order to go further, I need to dedicate myself and stick with something. So, here I am; starting university and Defranco’s WSFSB II.

I’m out–gotta go lift before my classes start for the day.

2

it’s rather difficult to judge you, laugh at you, and find things for which to berate you when there are no pictures and details in your profile.

so far, you sound rather normal.

glad you quit lurking.

what are your goals?

3

Haha, well I guess the lack of pictures and details is both a good and bad thing. I may sound normal, but I’m apparently anything but normal–I mean, how many normal university gals love to lift heavy? I mean, sure, a lot of them don’t mind lifting heavy plates of food in the cafeteria, but other than that…

Anyways, I guess I should post some stats:
Height: 5’5" ish
Weight: 135-140lb (not sure exactly)
Max clean–135
Max snatch–105
Max back squat–215
Max deadlift–255
Max bench press–135

Max clean and deadlift were nailed with a belt. I know the clean can be higher; just gotta straighten out the form.

Current goals:
2x bodyweight back squat and deadlift
155 lb bench press
145 lb clean
I don’t have a current snatch goal due to a wonky shoulder. It’ll tolerate a lot, but loves to click and snap when I do snatches. A real downer–I was just starting to truly like snatches.

August 31st

A. Max effort lift–front squats (working up to max set of 5)
bar x 10
65 x 8
95 x 5
115 x 5
125 x 5
135 x 5
145 x 3 (failed on 4)

B. Unilateral-- bulgarian split squats
4 x 10
15 lb DBs, 20 lb DBs (two sets), 25 lb DBs

C. Hip extension–swiss ball hip extension + leg curl
3 x 15

D. DB holds
45#–1:05
55#–0:45
55#–0:45

September 1

morning: Energy system training

Dynamic warmup + mobility work + frequency work

-ladder drills

-shuttle drill (not sure of thhe actual distance, used the posts along the track as guidelines)
3 reps starting to left/3 reps starting to right
30 seconds rest
all 6 reps were between 6.5 and 7.1 seconds

-forward/backward shuttle
3 reps
30 seconds rest

-finisher: 1-lap sprint
~22 seconds

afternoon: Max-Effort Upper Body Lifting

A. Max-Effort Lift: Weighted Chin-Ups (working up to 3 rep maximum)
unweighted X 6
3 X 5 lb
3 X 7.5 lb
3 X 10 lb
3 X 12.5 lb
3 X 15 lb

B. Supplemental Lift–DB floor press
4 X 6
warm-up set 8 X 20#
6 X 40 lb
6 X 45 lb
6 X 50 lb
6 X 45 lb
I’ve never done floor presses before, but I like them now. Had to drop down to 45s for the last set because my shoulder was making some funky clicking. It was fine for the 45s though.

C. Lat/upper back superset
4 X 10
i. DB rows (35 lb DBs)
ii. face pulls (40 lb)/rear delt flyes (10 lb DBs)
I wasn’t very happy that I had to switch to rear delt flyes; while doing my third set of DB rows the cable stack I was using was claimed by a guy and his girl.

D. Elbow flexor exercise
BB curls
3 X 8
10 lb ea side + bar(10-15 lb?)
15 lb ea side + bar
15 lb ea side + bar

4

Hi junionmint!

Weighted chinups? You are my hero.

5

Thanks! I forgot to mention that one of my goals is to make chin ups my bitch.

6

September 2

So today was a good day; stress relief after a bunch of classes in the morning. I wasn’t really looking forward to doing my homework, so I shot hoops and played table tennis with one of my teammates before actually starting my workout.

Dynamic warmup–
air squats
jumping jacks
skips, shuffles down the track
walking and side lunges
leg swings
backpedaling

Ladder drills

Energy Systems Work

Vertical jumps–3 X 3 (substituted in for box jumps; “jumping” room was being used for hip hop class)

Broad jump into ~25 m sprint
6 times

4 ~25 m sprints, 30 seconds rest between
rest 1 minute
3 ~40 m sprints, resting as long as it takes to get back to the line
rest 1 minute
2 ~60 m sprints, 2 minutes rest between

THOUGHTS: I’m glad I haven’t had to juggle homework and going to the gym yet. However, the cloud of the impending homework shitstorm is looming above me; just waiting to unleash its papery wrath upon me. I’d better prepare for that.

Also, must pick a better time to hit the gym; I keep hitting all the beginner wellness, sports, and dance classes they run. I’m going right after lunch tomorrow, so most people should be classes.

Almost near the end of my first week–I’m pretty happy with WSFSB so far, except for the fact that my ass muscles are rebelling. The many hills on campus don’t help this at all; neither does living on the top floor of the residence building.

I should find a tennis or lacrosse ball to roll out the sore spots. That’ll give me more interesting looks in the gym.

7

September 2

So today was a good day; stress relief after a bunch of classes in the morning. I wasn’t really looking forward to doing my homework, so I shot hoops and played table tennis with one of my teammates before actually starting my workout.

Dynamic warmup–
air squats
jumping jacks
skips, shuffles down the track
walking and side lunges
leg swings
backpedaling

Ladder drills

Energy Systems Work

Vertical jumps–3 X 3 (substituted in for box jumps; “jumping” room was being used for hip hop class)

Broad jump into ~25 m sprint
6 times

4 ~25 m sprints, 30 seconds rest between
rest 1 minute
3 ~40 m sprints, resting as long as it takes to get back to the line
rest 1 minute
2 ~60 m sprints, 2 minutes rest between

THOUGHTS: I’m glad I haven’t had to juggle homework and going to the gym yet. However, the cloud of the impending homework shitstorm is looming above me; just waiting to unleash its papery wrath upon me. I’d better prepare for that.

Also, must pick a better time to hit the gym; I keep hitting all the beginner wellness, sports, and dance classes they run. I’m going right after lunch tomorrow, so most people should be classes.

Almost near the end of my first week–I’m pretty happy with WSFSB so far, except for the fact that my ass muscles are rebelling. The many hills on campus don’t help this at all; neither does living on the top floor of the residence building.

I should find a tennis or lacrosse ball to roll out the sore spots. That’ll give me more interesting looks in the gym.

8

The program you are doing looks like a good fit!

Juggling everything will be rough at first, but you’ll get there!

Whats your class schedule like?

9

Good job starting out the academic year right! The trick to this is to pace yourself on the homework by setting and sticking to mini-deadlines rather than letting everything pile up. Set daily goals for yourself so that big projects like papers don’t overwhelm you. If work overwhelms you, your training will go to hell – guaranteed.

If there is enough space in your room to do the tennis/lacrosse ball rollouts there, that would save you the inquiring looks.

10

I have 4 classes on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, a lab on Tuesday, and a lab on Thursday. On M,W,F I have 3 straight classes, then lunch, and then my next class. It gives me the rest of the day to do homework, go to the gym, hang out, etc.

And for kimba, yeah I’m pretty sure I have enough space in my room to do some rollouts; just gotta go out and buy a package of tennis balls or something.

11

How about
M
Tues

Thurs
Fri

That would give you Wed to do some homework for Thurs/Fri, and also frees up the weekends! Just a thought :slight_smile:
Not sure how you were already doing it…

12

Here is how I am doing it now:

Monday: Lower body lifting (right after classes–so about 2-3 pm)
Tuesday:Energy systems work (morning–9 or 10 am)
Max effort upper body lifting (before dinner–3 or 4 pm)
Wednesday: Energy systems training (after dinner–7 or 8 pm)
Thursday: Repetition upper body lifting (after lunch–1 or 2 pm)
Friday: Conditioning (ie. barbell complex work)
Weekend: off

I have only slightly changed up the template given with the program–it calls for a running and upper body day on Monday, so I moved it to Tuesday because my only class on that day is from 12:45-2:45, so I have plenty of time. It seems to work well now; I still have plenty of free time before and after my workouts to do homework.

I might have to change it up a bit more; doing running/jumping work two days in a row is a bit much.

Once my season starts, I will probably switch to working out one or twice a week because we play games almost every weekend and practice almost every weekday. I’m still trying to figure that out.

13

September 3
Repetition Upper Body Lifting

A. Repetition–3 sets, max reps, 90 seconds rest
Pushups: 28, 20, 15

B. 4 X 8
i. Lat pulldowns (90 lbs)
ii. Face pulls (40, 40, 50, 50 lbs)

C. DB shoulder press
10 x 20 lb
10 x 20 lb
8 x 20 lb

Bleh, might have been better off choosing one of the other exercises for this one; still working on getting proper ROM in my shoulders. Even at the beginning of sets, I was having some difficulty locking out my right arm. Will have to add some shoulder stuff to my mobility drills.

D. i. alternating DB curls–15 lb
ii.DB tricep extensions–35 lb
3 x 12

E. i. weighted swiss ball crunches (2 10 lb DBs), 15 reps
ii.lateral bridges (aka side planks) for time (averaged ~30-45 seconds)
3 sets

14

September 4

Dynamic warm-up and mobility work:
air squats
jumping jacks
skipping
side and forward lunge walks
leg swings
back bridges
iron cross
bird dogs
fire hydrant circles
scorpions
mountain climbers

Barbell complex

8 X row
8 X clean
8 X front squats
8 X push jerks
8 X back squats
8 X good mornings

5 sets of complex; rest 90 seconds between.

My first attempt at a barbell complex–damn, they’re tough!
Used only the bar for the first set and 55 lb for the other 4 sets.

For the mobility work, I’ll probably be adding in more shoulder stuff this week (ie. wall slides).

15

[quote]juniormint wrote:
Thanks! I forgot to mention that one of my goals is to make chin ups my bitch. [/quote]

hahah nice!

i’d say they are already ur bitch though. =+)

u have some great numbers… its awesome seeing women ur age that train seriously. bravo!

16

Thanks Dejavued! There’s always something to improve upon though!

September 7

Dynamic warmups
-Arm circles and swings
-Wrist, elbow, and shoulder circles
-Air squats
-Jumping jacks
-Leg swings
-Side and walking lunges
-Skipping, back pedals, shuffles
-Jumping squats

Mobility work
-back bridges
-iron cross
-rollover into V sits
-bird dogs
-fire hydrant circles
-scorpions
-mountain climbers
-groiners
-YTWLs
-wall slides

Lower Body Strength Training

A. Max effort lift–work up to max set of 3 reps
8 X bar
5 X 95 lb
5 X 115 lb
3 X 135 lb
3 X 155 lb
3 X 185 lb
3 X 190 lb

B. Unilateral work
Bulgarian split squat
12 X 25 lb DBs
12 X 30 lb DBs
12 X 35 lb DBs

C. Hip extension exercise
Swiss ball hip extension + leg curl
4 X 15

D. Neck/grip superset (4 sets)
i. 35 lb DB shrugs–15 reps
ii. plate pinch gripping–three 10 lb plates

THOUGHTS: Lifting was a good way to kill a rainy holiday afternoon. The dynamic and mobility work looks like a lot, but it’s actually not all that bad. Gets some funny looks from the yoga chicks when they walk in the room I warm up in(especially the fire hydrant circles), but some of those looks are priceless.

Got my squat form figured out–I prefer to use a low bar position. For whatever reason, I sometimes can’t position it correctly. Today was no problem though.

17

So, WSFSB called for energy systems training this morning which actually worked in really well because my team workout was exactly that.

September 8

Morning: Energy systems training (change of direction focus)

Dynamic warmup

Tempo runs:
Sprint sideline of soccer field; walk goal line to other sideline
10x (5 laps around field)

Shuttle runs
6x starting to left, 6x starting to right

Cone run:
Sprint to first cone, backpedal to line
karaoke to second cone, shuffle back to line
Sprint to third cone
6x

THOUGHTS: Tough workout. Then I had to grab something to go at the dining hall (fruit, chicken, lettuce, and cucumbers), run back to my dorm to change and put lunch in the fridge, and then run off to lab. It’s definitely fun to walk into a lab all sweaty and red-faced.

I have to work a soccer game tonight; after that I’ll hit the gym for my max effort upper body lifting. This is what I may be doing tonight, if I’m able to use the equipment I want.

A. BB bench press–work up to max set of 3
B. Chin ups or DB floor press–4 sets of 6
C. Superset (4 X 10)
i. Lat pulldowns or chest supported rows
ii. Face pulls or seated DB power cleans
D. Hammer or zottman curls–3 sets of 10
E. Abdominal circuit

18

So, back at dorm after soccer game and my workout. Gonna sleep well tonight!

September 8 (evening)

Max effort upper body lifting

A. BB bench press–work up to max set of 3
10 X bar
5 X 65 lb
3 X 85 lb
3 X 95 lb
3 X 115 lb
3 X 125 lb

125 lb felt much better than the last time I did it (two weeks ago, little before I started my log). I’ll make a go at 3 X 130 lb next time; should be quite reachable.

B. Chin ups–4 X 6
6 reps across

Happy with the way the chin ups are coming along. Couple times I used a bit of body english to get my chin over the bar, but tried to keep them as strict as possible.

C. Superset
i. Chest supported rows (machine thingy with 25 lb plate)
ii. Seated DB power cleans (10 lb dumbbells)
4 sets of 10 reps

Chest supported rows are really foreign to me–never done them on the machine before. Guess I’ll have to look up the form some more; just didn’t feel right.

I’m liking seated DB power cleans though. Like the chest supported rows, it’s the first time I’ve done them, but I actually like them. Perhaps it’s because of the slight similarity to regular cleans.

D. Zottman curls–3 sets of 10
10, 15, 17.5 lb DBs
First time doing zottman curls too. These I didn’t mind too much. I was only able to get the DBs facing at about 30-45 degrees, instead of parallel to the floor. Not sure if this is still correct; again, something else I’ll have to look at.

E. Abdominal circuit
sprinter situps X 14
V-ups X 10
toe touches X 15
hip thrusts X 15
2x; 1 minute rest

Decided to try the sample circuit given in the program. It’s a good one.

19

I am very impressed. These look like great workouts.

20

September 9

I guess today can be considered an active rest day, as I went and played stick and puck with some teammates. It was certainly a workout–haven’t been on the ice for a good two months or so.

Oh, and I found a tennis ball in my hockey bag. Yes, it carries a lingering stench of hockey sweat, but it’ll do for roll outs.

So, taking into account, today’s slight change of plans, this is my program schedule this week:
Monday-- Lower Body Lifting (COMPLETED)
Tuesday, A.M.-- Energy System Training (change of direction focus) (COMPLETED)
Tuesday, P.M.-- Max Effort Upper Body Lifting (COMPLETED)
Wednesday-- OFF/active rest (COMPLETED)
Thursday-- Energy System Training**
Thursday-- Repetition Upper Body Lifting
Friday-- Strongman Conditioning or Sport-specific Drills
Saturday-- OFF/active rest (scrimmage)
Sunday-- OFF

**Tomorrow will be another two-a-day (YAY), due to a mandatory team workout. Guess it fits, seeing as today was considered active rest. The energy system training will be fairly sport-specific. Not sure exactly what we’re doing, but it sounds like agility work with some hand-eye coordination stuff as well. I’ll probably throw in some short sprints as well.